The
old Short Tail Male really seems to be giving up on things and sightings
this month were again restricted to a small area around the Sand River
on NW Mala Mala, an area with good numbers of prey species, where an old
leopard can almost 'retire' with little effort. There appeared to be
almost no energy put into patrolling territory, particularly in seeing
off other male leopards such as the Newington and Rock Drift Males which
have been 'invading' his land for some months now.

But,
in spite of 'relaxing' or perhaps giving up, the Short Tail Male still
faces everyday dangers. This month he nearly lost his life when he snuck
in to scavenge from a buffalo carcass which two male lions had been feeding
from. When he arrived, the male lions were resting in some reeds nearby
and the Short Tail Male crept around them and started to feed. The lions
were unaware of the leopard, but when one of them moved towards the carcass
after a few vultures passed low overhead, it noticed him. The wind was
strong and the leopard had his back towards the lions, allowing the lion
to creep up within metres of the unsuspecting leopard. Just what alerted
the leopard isn't known, but he only just managed to dash off in time
and after a long and fierce chase through the thick reeds, the leopard
managed to shake the lion off. If the lion was any leaner, perhaps he
would have caught the leopard and this would have been his end.

November 2003

SHORT
TAIL MALE

Location:
SE MARTHLY/ NW MALA MALA
(7
confirmed sightings)

The
Short Tail Male really appears to be in decline; not only are his movements
definitely more localised, as if he is almost reluctant to get out there
and patrol vital borders, but other male leopards continue to enter the
area long considered and respected as his exclusive domain. Amongst these
'invading' male leopards are the Rock Drift and Newington Males, as well
as at least one other young adult male which is thought to have a territory
to the north of that which up until now has been Short Tail Males'

Towards
the beginning of the report-period, the Short Tail Male spent several
days scavenging from the rotting carcass of a female buffalo which had
died, apparently of natural causes, close to the junction of the Mlowathi
and Sand Rivers. Fortunately for the leopard, hyaenas in the area didn't
appear to be too interested in his windfall.

October 2003

SHORT
TAIL MALE

Location:
SE MARTHLY/ SW EYREFIELD/ NW MALA MALA

(8
confirmed sightings)
Although
the Short Tail Male leopard was seen on several occasions and apparently
getting good food to eat, there were several signs that he is being pressurised
by other male leopards which occupy land on his peripheries. At least
three male leopards were seen within his territory this month, these the
Rock Drift and Newington Males and a young male leopard which appears
to have come down from the northwestern parts of the reserve.
The
Short Tail Male also had fresh wounds on his lower back, these perhaps
the result of a vicious fight with another male leopard.

So
is he weakening or not? The drought conditions which have almost certainly
caused some prey species such as impala to leave areas that have no water
would cause leopards in such territories to invade more productive territories,
such as the prime riverine areas occupied by the Short Tail Male. A shortage
of resources would then cause conflict which would otherwise not really
exist and this could be the reason why so many invaders have been seen. But then again it might be that the old leopard simply is indeed finally
giving in and others, on the wings and set on expanding territory, are
testing.

Of
the eight sightings of the Short Tail Male, four were on successive day,
just south of the causeway, when he was seen first with the carcass of
a sub adult baboon and then with that of an adult female impala, the latter
in a huge Jackalberry Tree.

September 2003

Location:
SE MARTHLY/ W MALA MALA

(4
confirmed sightings)
The
monthly-report-period started off well for the Short Tail Male when he
was seen mating with the Ngoboswan Female, his long-term 'associate' within
the area he controls. Although the two were seen together for only one
day, they disappeared into thick bush and, as with most leopard mating
events, they almost certainly continued to mate for several days.

This
mating, however, came to nought since two weeks later, the Ngoboswan Female
was again mating, but this time with one of the Short Tail Males' bitter
rivals, the Rock Drift Male, indicating that the Ngoboswan Female had
made a deliberate excursion out of her territory to seek another male
leopard. And this seems to be the story of the life of the Short Tail
Male - female leopards, although apparently respectful of his physical
ability to fight off other males, have little faith in his fertility and
matings with rival males have become the norm. This has been seen with
the old Mlowathi Female, the Newington Female and two years ago when the
Ngoboswan Female was seen mating with the Newington Male. The amazing
thing, of course, is that when the 'other' male leopards' cubs are born,
the Short Tail Male continues to care for them in the way expected of
a dominant male.

Other
sightings of this old male leopard this month were more routine.

August 2003

August
seemed to have been a good month for this male leopard and he tackled
not only the maintenance of his territory and every-day food management
with success, but also the unscheduled day-to-day dramas which will always
be part of nature. At the beginning of the month, he was forced to sit
tight when two young lions tried to steal a bushbuck carcass which he
had hoisted into a tree. Although the young lions managed to get away
with some of the kill, the leopard refused to be panicked and secured
the remainder and then waited until the lions finally realised that they
were making fools of themselves.

Less than a week later, he suddenly pitched up to chase away the Kapen
Female leopard and her nearly two-year-old daughter from a bushbuck kill
which the Kapen Female had only the day before taken from her sister,
the White Cloth Female. The area in which this action occurred was probably
just outside the territorial limit of the male leopard, but close enough
for him to respond to temptation. Since the Kapen Female 'belongs' to
the Rock Drift Male, she and her daughter were not greeted with any sort
of friendliness and fled from the area when the male leopard with the
short tail came roaring in.

On
26 August, two leopards were found to be mating on the western bank of
the Sand River, to the east of the Mala Mala airstrip. The leopards
involved were the Ngoboswan female and the short-tailed male, known to
be a previous mate of hers.

July 2003

7 sightings: Of the sightings of this old male leopard, two were of him together with
one of the daughters of the Ngoboswan Female, a leopard he has long been
associated with. On these two occasions, the male leopard had the carcass
of a baboon and although hostile towards the daughter of the Ngoboswan
Female, he probably allowed her to share the meal. Otherwise, the short-tail-male
survived the month and appeared to come out of it looking a great deal
stronger than he has over the last few months, perhaps because the Newington
Male stayed away - as far as encounters with the Newington Male suggested
that is.

June 2003

The
single encounter with this old male leopard was near the Mala Mala Bridge,
close to the western parts of the Mala Mala/ Flockfield Boundary. Soon
after he was found, the leopard entered some reedbeds and was lost from
view. A few hours later and not far to the west of this position, there
was a report of a male leopard together with a female leopard. The Ngoboswan
Female had been seen in that area earlier. Could it have been that she
had met up with the male with the shortish tail? The two leopards have
certainly been acquainted for several years.

May 2003

4 confirmed sightings of the adult male leopard
with the shorter than expected tail:

There was nothing exceptional to report on this male leopard as far
as sightings went this month. Early encounters with the Newington Male,
his past nemesis, indicated that the Newington Male was still within the
area under the control of this male leopard with the short tail. Movements
of the Newington Male later on in the month suggested that he had at least
temporarily vacated these areas to the south of the vast territory which
he now seems to control. Towards the end of May, the fresh wounds seen
last month on the male leopard with the shortish tail, perhaps inflicted
in a fight with another male leopard and this perhaps being the Newington
Male, were healing well and the old soldier was behaving along more expected
lines. One wonders just how long this will last.

April 2003

6 confirmed sightings of the adult male leopard
with the shorter than expected tail:
This old male leopard, although appearing to remain in good general
health, does not, overall, seem to be prospering. The Newington Male,
which is probably his son and which he ran out of his territory a year
or so ago, returned during April and stayed for quite some time. Although
the two were not seen to confront one another, the male leopard with the
shortish tail was soon sporting a noticeable gash on his nose, perhaps
from an encounter with the Newington Male. Whether this is indeed the
beginning of the end for this veteran, time will of course tell. But
he has been around for some years now and cannot last forever.

The
final sighting of the male leopard with the shortish tail over the April
report period was of him opportunistically catching a baby duiker and
then dashing up a thorn-tree with the prey in order to escape from a hyena
which appeared from nowhere almost as soon as the baby duiker bleated
in distress upon being caught. But the tree could hardly have been more
hideous for the leopard; it was solid with sharp white thorns, surely
making an uncomfortable perch. But he managed to get away with it. The
hyena hung around for a while at the base of the tree, at first literally
gnashing his teeth with rage and frustration, and breaking branches from
the lower parts of the tree. When that failed to get the leopard to jump
out or let the prey drop, the hyena pretended to wander off, again no
doubt hoping that the leopard would then vacate his prickly roost. Still,
the leopard failed to budge. And ultimately the leopards' patience must
have won. The following morning the old male leopard was still in the
area, this time on the ground near the tree and chewing on the scraps
of the small kill. He still had a few thorns embedded in his coat. Nearby
to where the last of the carcass was being eaten, was another leopard,
the Campbell Koppies Female, which is probably his daughter, this assuming
he was mating with the Ngoboswan Female leopard three-and-a-half years
ago. The young female leopard, now with a territory of her own and having
mated already with the Newington Male (perhaps her half-brother), was
cautiously watching the male leopard chew at the last of the scraps, no
doubt hoping that he would leave at least something for her. But this
was not to be. The male leopard, although he simply must have been aware
of the presence of the Campbell Koppies Female, did not even acknowledge
it and, when finished, turned his back on her and groomed himself for
a while before moving off, leaving the female to head away in the opposite
direction.

March 2003

This old male leopard
was seen where expected this month and that being within the area of land
between Mala Mala Main Camp and Harry's Camp and a little to the northwest
of this as well. There was one sighting when he was seen briefly with
the cubs of the Ngoboswan Female, leaving them soon after the first landrover
discovered them. Although he is not the father of these cubs, his relationship
with their mother goes way back and he seems to act as their paternal
protector. At another sighting of this male leopard, he was found close
to the Main Camp with the carcasses of an adult baboon as well as an adult
male impala; these lasted several days. He still bears the open wound
on his left rear leg (probably sustained in a fight with another leopard)
first seen well over a month ago. Although the wound is still open and
certainly looks dramatic against his orange and black coat, it does not
seem to be troubling him.

February 2003

5
confirmed sightings: For
much of the month this
leopard, guardian of the Ngoboswan Female and her cubs (probably his 'grandcubs')
was sporting a very obvious wound on his lower flank, perhaps sustained
in some or other fight with another leopard. Although obvious to the observer,
the wound did not appear to be troubling the leopard too much. Sightings
of this leopard ranged from upstream in the Manyelethi River to opposite
Harry's Camp. Although now almost considered to be a leopard oblivious
to the presence of landrovers, the male leopard with the shortish tail
still deliberately enters areas impossible for landrovers to follow; he
does not bolt into such places when seen, but walks calmly but intently
towards them with the full knowledge that once there, landrovers will
not follow.

January 2003

6 confirmed sightings of the adult male leopard with the
shorter than expected tail:

There were also two sightings of leopards which could
well have been of this sometimes quite shy male, both in areas considered
to be within his territory. Towards the beginning of the game-report-period,
the male leopard was seen with the Ngoboswan Female and her two cubs around
the scene of an adult female impala carcass. It's not certain which of
the leopards killed the impala, but all four appeared to have fed from
it. Although the male leopard with the short tail is not the father of
the cubs of the Ngoboswan Female, all are familiar with one another and
few, if any, hostilities are evident amongst them. At another sighting,
this male leopard was seen mating with a large and relaxed female leopard
on the western bank of the Sand River, not far south of the Mala Mala
Main Camp. The female leopard was not identified and the area in which
the mating was taking place was in the very centre of the Ngoboswan Females'
territory. But this is not unusual; when a female leopard is in season,
it will frequently seek out a male leopard and follow it, even deep into
the territory of other female leopards. When the mating is over - and
this may take several days - the leopard will return to its own territory.
Other sightings of the short-tailed male leopard offered nothing exciting
beyond the inevitable and never-ending patrolling of territory.

December
2002

The
four sightings of this old leopard suggested that he is still strong and
in control and in fact even edging slightly beyond the usually fairly
strictly controlled boundaries of a male leopards territory. There were
two encounters with male leopard which had him entering areas around the
lower parts of the Matshapiri River thought to be more under the control
of the Rock Drift Male. These particular regions were certainly patrolled
by this male leopard some years ago, this before the Rock Drift Male moved
north and pushed him back. But with the Rock Drift Male perhaps weakening
somewhat, opportunity beckons for these areas to be reclaimed.

November 2002

2 definite sightings of the adult male leopard with the
shorter than expected tail:

Aside from these two confirmed sightings of this particular
male leopard, which controls the general area between Harrys Camp and
the Mala Mala Main Camp, there were two other sightings of a male leopard
during November which were almost certainly of him. One of the sightings
of what was probably this male had him in front of the Mala Mala Main
Camp, in the general area of where some lions had some or other kill.
It is quite likely that the leopard had been attracted to the scene of
the kill and was hoping for an easy meal. But with lions around this would
have been unlikely. Otherwise there was nothing terribly exciting to report
on this leopard.

October 2002

11 sightings of the adult male leopard with the shorter
than expected tail:

All
sightings were close to the Sand River from as far south as Flockfield
(south of Harrys Camp) and then as far north as the lower parts of the
Manyelethi and Mlowathi Rivers. This male leopard, which is relaxing nicely
in the presence of landrovers, delivered some good viewing during October
and was seen interacting with several other leopards, including the White
Cloth Female and her son, the cubs of the Ngoboswan Female and the Newington
Male.

In the latter encounter, which occurred towards the lower
reaches of the Mlowathi River, the Newington Male (which may in fact be
the older male leopards' son) was found cowering in a tree with the male
leopard with the short tail waiting below. Two male lions were watching
this interaction from 100 or so metres away. Eventually the male leopard
with the shortish tail wandered off and the Newington Male climbed down
and drifted away. That afternoon the male leopard with the short tail
was still in the area, this time close to a tree in which the remains
of an impala were hanging. It is not certain which of the male leopards
had actually killed the impala, perhaps the Newington Male since the previous
day the male leopard with the short tail was a kilometre further south
with the cubs of the Ngoboswan Female and was eating the remains of a
bushbuck kill. The cubs of the Ngoboswan Female were fathered by the Newington
Male which actually mated with the Ngoboswan Female whilst the male leopard
with the short tail looked on. The male leopard with the short tail is
the old mate of the Ngoboswan Female and seems to get on very well with
her and her cubs. When the male leopard with the short tail started to
feed from the kill, the two male lions, which had been lying in the area
for the entire day, came along to investigate and even tried to scale
the tree. But they managed to get nothing and the old male leopard simply
settled down in the tree to wait for the lions to move off. The third
interaction seen to involve this male leopard had him stealing another
kill, this time a bushbuck from the White Cloth Female and her son. The
White Cloth Female tried to regain the carcass, but failed and eventually
left the male leopard to feed on the kill. There is some thought that
the male leopard with the short tail fathered the first of the White Cloth
Females' cubs and although he is probably not the father of her current
youngsters, is no doubt familiar with the White Cloth Female. Perhaps
due to this existing 'understanding' there was not much overt hostility
displayed between the White Cloth Female and the male leopard with the
shortish tail.

September 2002

2
confirmed sightings : These sightings were within less than 24hours of
each other and both far south in the area considered his territory (if
he even has one given his relationship with the females in the area as
well as the Newington Male). He may have been responding to a conflict
between his old mate, the Ngoboswan Female, and another young female which
appears to have set up residence to the south of the Ngoboswan Female.
The interaction between the two females may well have caused this old
leopard to make an appearance. The day before the first of these two encounters,
there was a brief sighting of a male leopard leaping out of a tree with
the remains of a kill in his mouth. The area in which this occurred, southwestern
Marthly, is an area which this old male certainly used to frequent and,
given his often nervous disposition, particularly when food is around,
the leopard seen leaping from the tree may well have been him.

August 2002

8 sightings : This veteran of the north-western parts
of the reserve, in the area close to the Sand River between the Main Camp
and Harrys Camp, seemed to enjoy a good month. At the beginning of the
game-report-period, he was found eyeing out the remains of a rotting buffalo
carcass, at the time being eaten by lions. Realising the rashness of trying
to steal any of the meat, the leopard moved on. A few days later he was
found together with his old mate, the Ngoboswan Female and her three cubs,
which had a kill in a nearby tree. This male leopard, although not the
father of the cubs (the Newington Male mated with the Ngoboswan Female),
seems to get on well with them. The Ngoboswan Female herself paid him
almost no heed and the cubs even played with his tail on one occasion
before lying down close to him. Over the last year, this once very nervous
leopard seems to have relaxed down quite well in the presence of landrovers.

One of the last sightings of this male leopard in August
also involved his old adversary the Rock Drift Male, as well as a pack
of Wild Dogs. The Rock Drift Male chanced upon the pack of Wild Dogs which
had just killed a bushbuck and stole the carcass from them, taking it
up a tree. When the pack left the area, they encountered the male leopard
with the short tail which they then briefly harassed, forcing him to climb
a tree. Once the Wild Dogs had left, the leopard moved on and came across
the Rock Drift Male eating the kill. The two leopards confronted one another
and the result was the Rock Drift Male moving off, leaving the other male
to eat from the remains of the kill. The outcome of this interaction was
somewhat surprising since all indications have so far been that the Rock
Drift Male is by far the stronger of the two, not only besting the other
in physical interactions, but also getting to mate with females once under
his control. Goodness knows what transpired in this particular conflict
which occurred on what must certainly be the very northwestern border
of the Rock Drift Males' territory, but the male leopard with the short
tail certainly triumphed.

July 2002

At least three sightings : Two of these sightings involved
female leopards, one when he was in the area of the Ngoboswan Female and
all three of her cubs and another when he appropriated a kill from the
Kapen Female leopard. The Ngoboswan Female is one of his old mates and
the two were seen walking side-by-side with no hostilities evident at
all. However, the fact that both were also surrounded by irate elephants
probably meant that they had more immediate things on their minds than
mutual dislike for one another. When this leopard was seen taking the
remains of a bushbuck kill from the Kapen Female, the latter made it quite
clear that she was unhappy with the male and made good her exit from the
tree whilst he climbed it to take the carcass. On another occasion, this
old male was seen on his own near the Mala Mala Causeway close to the
Main Camp. This was well after dark. Earlier that morning, a male leopard
was seen briefly to the west of Harrys Camp and it could have been this
same male which then made his way up towards the general area of the causeway
during the day.

June 2002

Two sightings of the male leopard with the shorter than
average tail. Both sightings were close to the Sand River and between
Harrys Camp and Mala Mala Main Camp. At the one sighting, this at night
when this male leopard seems to ignore vehicles, the leopard was actively
scent-marking in an area where the Rock Drift Male, one of his old adversaries,
had probably just walked through. At the time the Rock Drift Male was
a kilometre or so from this other leopard, walking down the road, also
scent-marking. The status of the male leopard with the shorter-than-average
tail remains an mystery - while the dominance of the Newington Male (probably
his son) in much of this male leopards' old haunts suggests that he is
no longer a force to be reckoned with, other behaviour indicates otherwise.
Another sighting of a male leopard in this same aforementioned area may
also have been of this same animal.